With the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District introducing a three-stream collection service this summer to all residential homes in the City of Port Alberni, blue bins will be upgraded to a standardized, wheeled cart. The City’s split garbage trucks will be used for their intended purpose to pick up two different materials. This requires new carts as the garbage trucks’ mechanical arm needs to be able to pick up the recycling.
An automated collection service allows for improved service such as:
- No weight restrictions
- Improved worker health and safety
- Improved neighbourhood aesthetics by keeping materials contained (no more blue bins tipping over on a windy day)!
Your recycling will be picked up every other week, alternated with garbage pickup. Recycle BC has been expanding the materials accepted in the curbside bin over the last five years. All items must be rinsed and free of residue to ensure no contamination – and they must be inside the cart – no overflow will be collected.
Port Alberni residents can now include more items than ever in their blue boxes, including items like empty aerosol cans and the caps (think air fresheners, nothing labelled hazardous), concentrated juice containers, plastic berry containers, hot and cold drink cups (no plastic straws), empty coffee pods, and plastic plant pots to name just a few. Here is a more extensive list of what is accepted in the blue recycling cart:
- Newspapers, inserts, flyers, catalogues, magazines, telephone books
- Household paper, paper gift wrap and greeting cards
- Shredded paper
- Paper bags, with single, multiple paper layers for pet food, flour etc.
- Boxboard boxes (Remove liners, flatten, tape ok)
- Moulded box board for egg cartons, beverage carry out trays etc.
- Cores from paper towels, toilet tissue
- Corrugated cardboard for shipping groceries, etc.
- Plastic or paper take-out cups, bowls, lids
- Plastic bottles, jugs, jars, tubs and trays
- Caps, tops, lids and pumps
- Rigid clamshells for baked goods, fruit etc.
- Plastic plant pots and seedling trays
- Plastic pails, less than 25L e.g., laundry detergent
- Cartons for soup, milk, sauces, ice-cream etc.
- Metal cans and lids for food
- Empty aerosol cans and caps (food, toiletries)
- Microwaveable bowls and cups
- Spiral wound cans and lids for frozen juice concentrate, chips etc.
- Aluminum foil wrap, take out containers
Remember that items such as Styrofoam, glass and flexible plastics are also recyclable but cannot be accepted via curbside pickup. These items must be collected separately as they shard and contaminate the rest of the recycling or jam the sorting machinery which processes the curbside recycling. Imagine the damage plastic bags can do to the gears on a conveyor belt.
Head to 3rd Avenue Recycling Depot or the Landfill Recycling Depots (they also accept containers and paper products if you don’t have curbside service) to recycle:
- Glass (no mason jars, drinking glasses, broken windows)
- Styrofoam, white and coloured (no squishy or flexible foam, packing peanuts, foam insulation)
- Plastic bags and over-wrap (no saran wrap, no biodegradable or compostable packaging)
- Other flexible plastics (includes crinkly wrappers and bags, woven plastic bags, zipper lock and standup pouches, non-food protective packaging)
Stay tuned for ideas on how to repurpose blue bins or where to drop off your blue bins as we get closer to distributing carts across the city. Visit www.letsconnectacrd.ca/organics for more information about the Organics Collection Service and to ask questions. Questions about sorting? Download the free Sort’nGo app from your mobile app store. You can also check out the Facebook Page “Alberni Valley Waste Reduction Education” which has weekly tips and updates for the Valley.
